Off the Market
by Sass Master
Summary: Reno and Tifa discuss their living situation. 12th in a series of 14


**This one is… well, the word I frequently used was 'schmaltzy' XD. You've been warned.**

**Special thanks to LINDA for being kickass and supportive and all the other cool things that she is :huggles and smoochies:**

**Title and summary were both changed.**

**On with the show.**

**XXXXXXXXX**

It was a big step. A BIG step. But that didn't seem to faze him.

…Though it certainly had an effect on _her_.

She fidgeted on her side of the booth in their favorite diner, eyes cast down at the fork she'd suddenly dropped. "I… Really?" she asked, still not entirely grasping what he was saying. He nodded. "You want…" she looked up at him and he waited expectantly. "To move in together…" He nodded again giving her a somewhat strange look. "…Seriously."

She had meant it to be a question. Not that it mattered.

Reno was growing impatient with her disbelief. "Well Teef if you don't WANT to then—"

"No," she cut him off, retrieving her fork and picking at her food. "It's not that. You just… surprised me," she trailed off, avoiding his eyes and opting to watch the passing traffic through the window. She noticed him staring at her intensely and realized he was expecting more than that. "You're…" She sighed. "You're really serious about this… aren't you," Again, it wasn't a question as she had intended.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "_Yes_," he said, pouring more sugar in his coffee.

So he meant it. _Wow. _She looked at him suddenly. "I'm sorry…" She smiled. "You'd really like to move in together?"

He couldn't help but grin back at her. "Now you're gettin' it," He sipped his drink. "So how 'bout it?"

"I think…" After recovering from the initial shock, she'd had more time to form a better opinion. She smiled again. "That would be great."

It was almost like they were living together anyway, regardless of sleeping arrangements.

…Even if said sleeping arrangements were sometimes prone to change. All right… more than 'sometimes.' To her, his bed was just as familiar as her own. And she didn't regret it at all.

His grin widened and he repeated her last word back to her. "Great."

"…When?" She had to ask after a period of silence passed.

He thought for scarcely a moment before answering. "As soon as possible," He winked at her.

She giggled and blushed with slight embarrassment. He still managed to have that effect on her. Even after everything…

Then something struck her. "Reno, wait," He glanced up from his coffee up and his expression turned confused. "Where? Whose place? Yours or mine?" The answer seemed clear, but it seemed impolite not to ask. Even if it had been his idea in the first place, she didn't want to impose.

"Yours," He didn't miss a beat.

She blinked. "What?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. I know I shouldn't just assume like that, but it seemed like the obvious choice."

She blinked again. Her 'obvious choice' had been his place—beyond a shadow of a doubt. "But Reno…" She paused as the waitress came and took their plates of half-eaten food. "It would make so much more sense to move into your apartment."

She thought of her own apartment. She'd been so proud when she first moved in because it was all new and all hers. But she still knew that it wasn't much. It was small and not very spacious. There were few windows and few rooms. The rent was higher than it should be and she was not very fond of her landlady. The only real perks of living there were the fireplace and the convenient location near her bar.

Reno watched her carefully as he motioned for the check. The bill arrived and he was looking it over before he answered. "Why's that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

She gave him a 'you've-got-to-be-kidding-me' look before fishing out some money from her back pocket. He waved her money away dismissively with his free hand.

He left a tip on the table and she followed him to the cash register, still wondering what was going on in his head. When they were outside, he inquired again. "Well?"

She gaped at him. He _had _to be making this up or something.

His arm quickly found its way around Tifa's waist and pulled her close as some man looked her up and down as they passed in the parking lot.

They both climbed into the car, still silent. "You really want to know?" she asked finally.

He grinned, starting the car. "Lay it on me, babe."

OoOoOoOoO

They were walking to her house after she'd finished with work— the same as always, but not entirely. This time, they were holding hands. Despite the fact that he kissed her… well… frequently and was not shy about being affectionate with her in public or in private, Tifa still thought an act such as hand holding was a bit too mushy for Reno. Needless to say, she'd been pleasantly surprised to feel his hand intertwine with hers as they walked. She smiled at him quickly before looking down at her feet and watching them move against the pavement.

She was caught off-guard when, upon arriving at her building, Reno didn't stop or even slow down. He continued walking still holding her hand, now almost dragging her by it.

"Reno… what?" was all she could manage in her confusion.

He only slowed enough to allow her to regain her position next to him. "I'm takin' ya somewhere."

She huffed. "Well I can see _that_," she replied. "But _where _is 'somewhere?'" She tried to study his face but it was stubbornly turned forward, to wherever he was carting her off to.

He flashed her a bright grin. "That, my dear, is a surprise."

After spending a lot of energy trying to get Reno to tell her where they were going, Tifa took note of the fact that they had headed in the direction he normally went in after he dropped her off at home.

_He must be taking me to his apartment! _She'd never been to _his _place before. She was too excited about it to even consider the fact that he had impure intentions—though she would have been wrong had she assumed that. She wondered what kind of place it would be. Reno's personality would lead her to believe that it was either very simple, a wreck, or both.

She started humming merrily with a somewhat knowing smirk after her realization, much to his suspicion.

"…What?"

"Nooothiiing," she sang, swinging their hands between them. He looked at her oddly through the corners of his eyes, but opted to drop it.

When they finally stopped at a building—quite visibly an apartment building—Reno noticed her beaming inanely as they stepped inside. She tried to look innocent when he stared at her while he fished out a key.

He turned to open the door and heard a tiny excited giggle behind him. A small smile crept its way onto his face and he shook his head. "I guess you already know where we are," the door swung open and he took her hand again to lead her inside, "But I thought it was about time I invited you over to _my _place for once," He returned her eager grin over his shoulder. "I'm not a total free-loader."

Once Tifa got a better look around as she headed further inside, her eyes widened and she gasped loudly. "Oh my… Reno!" she exclaimed, rounding on him with a look that almost conveyed anger.

She was at a loss for words. His place was _gorgeous_. Not just gorgeous, but rather large and spacious and equipped with many of sought after qualities of any apartment or home. She found beautiful hardwood floors beneath her feet, crown molding near the ceiling and fabulous furniture all around her. She smacked him lightly on the chest. "I can't believe you have a place like this and you never told me!"

He merely shrugged, looking rather bored with his surroundings.

"A place like this and you insist on coming to my dinky apartment…" She hesitated. "Wait, Reno…"

"Yeah?"

"How…" she paused to find the right words. "How can you afford this?" His unemployment was no secret between them, neither was his lack of effort in looking for a job.

"Well…" It was about time he explained it. "After ShinRa… went out of business, all the money was fronted in equal shares to the high level employees… like the Turks and head of weapons," He paused and looked at her. "_All _of it."

Tifa took a moment to let that sink in. That was probably a lot of money. The apartment she stood in was enough proof.

"Yeah, so that's why I'm not really lookin' for a job… I'm not really gonna need one for a while," he scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.

_Hmm. Makes sense. _Tifa had up to that point been assuming Reno was just being lazy, when it turned out he had a legitimate excuse. _Go figure._

She scanned the environment around her a bit more. She was… impressed. "Did you… decorate this yourself?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Elena did."

"Elena?" She felt an unexpected pang of jealousy.

"Yeah," Reno sat on a love seat and motioned for Tifa to join him. "She was real eager. She's into that sorta shit you know?" She nodded in silence. "She wouldn't have taken no for an answer anyway. Said she 'needed practice.'"

She furrowed her brow. "Practice? For what?"

"That's what I said," he stated, laughing a little. "Apparently, she and Rude were moving into a brand new place and she was dead-set on doing all the decorating herself."

"Wow…" she said. "Elena and Rude are… together then?" _Funny how things work out like that…_

"Crazy, right?" he asked, leaning back with his arm resting on the couch behind Tifa. Thinking about it now, Reno was just relieved that Rude didn't have a thing for Tifa anymore.

She smiled, eyes sparkling a bit. "Not _that _crazy," she said, lightly nudging him in the side. His arm moved from the couch to around her. "Elena did a great job," she said, admiring everything.

"Yeah…" he said absentmindedly.

All of a sudden she sat up straight. "I'm not done here yet," She hopped up and grabbed his hand, pulling him into standing position as well. "Take me to the bedroom."

The glint in his eye, like the one she was looking at now, was a constant reminder that she had a knack for saying things without realizing how they sounded. "Shut up," she pre-empted before he could say anything off-color. "You know what I mean."

He raised an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth. "I'm not so sure I do."

Tifa blushed, realizing that she wasn't entirely sure what she had meant either. "Just show me around…" she mumbled.

Bay windows, a terrace, a kitchen that she would die to have… She wasn't entirely sure what he would even need with all that but she felt lucky just to be allowed inside. The building itself was probably gorgeous too, but she hadn't thought to check and probably wouldn't have noticed in the dark. When they returned to the living room, she immediately voiced the first thing on her mind.

"I love it."

OoOoOoOoO

"Hmm…" Reno thought as he listened to Tifa's reasoning.

She turned to him as they walked to her apartment. They'd never discussed where they were going to drive to, but he seemed to have decided for the both of them. "So you see what I mean then. Your place is nicer… bigger…"

"But…" Reno started as they stepped inside. He looked around then back at her. "I _like _your place."

OoOoOoOoO

"Yeah, well, I don't," He snorted.

Tifa gaped. "Wha—why _not?_"

He shrugged, plopping back down on the love seat. "Doesn't really feel like home."

OoOoOoOoO

Tifa mulled it over, recalling how he felt about his own apartment.

She remembered everything that had happened in hers. How they'd grown closer.

The first time they kissed. The first time they shared a bed as lovers.

And she knew how he felt. Her apartment was small but it was filled with memories and felt more like a home than anything had since she was a child.

They sat on the couch and she looked down at her folded hands in her lap for a while before speaking. "I… I do too. But I still think this place is too small. If we're going to start a new life, I don't want to do it here. I want to be somewhere else."

Reno felt the same way about his place. "Well, if we can't agree about it—"

"No!" Tifa said, practically jumping on him. She didn't want to make him call the whole thing off.

He smirked and pulled her closer. "You don't want to buy a house then?"

She gasped. "A house? …Really? Like, our _own _house?"

"Well it won't be ours until we buy it," He grinned.

She bit her lip, skepticism edging its way onto her face. "You mean it?"

He leaned up and kissed her. "You betcha."

She let out a jubilant giggle before falling on him and kissing him back. "Can we start looking tomorrow?" she asked excitedly.

He grinned. "Absolutely."

She kissed him fervently again and rested contentedly against his chest.

She thought of leaving her apartment. What felt like home to her. But deep down she knew that home wasn't a space in a building, it was here, with Reno, on a couch they both loved.

And because of that she knew, that no matter where the memories were made, as long as Reno was with her, so were they.

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**Don't say I didn't warn you… Schmaltziness aside, I'd love opinions. Review at will. **

**And yeah it's pretty damn schmaltzy.**


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